TWO Brits who saw a shark eating a human corpse

TWO Brits who saw a shark eating a human corpse off Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh resort were told to keep quiet — as it might hit tourism.

The pair watched in horror from their dive boat as the 16ft tiger shark tore at the body less than a third of a mile from the shore.

But the crew continued with the trip — not stopping to fish out the female corpse.

They told Richard King, 32, partner Laura Hooper, 29, and five other tourists not to speak out in the resort — blighted by shark attacks last year.

Horrified … Brits Richard King and Laura Hooper

Horrified … Brits Richard King and Laura Hooper

Police later recovered the body and began an inquiry.

Salesman Richard, of Swindon, told how the crew saw the shark soon after leaving Sharm Beach for a day’s scuba-diving.

He said: “As we got closer, we clocked that it had been feeding on a human
body.
“Laura ran into the boat in tears. We were asked by the crew not to say anything as it would be bad for tourism.

“We couldn’t believe it when there were people swimming in the water the next day. There was no mention of sharks in the water or a dead body.”

The crew completed the day’s diving and took the pair home.

The couple cut their week’s hols short due to the incident. Richard said: “Neither of us felt like getting in the water again.”

A spokesman for their tour operator told The Sun the incident was reported as soon as the boat got back, and added: “It was not a shark attack that killed the person.”

And last night the dive centre insisted they reported the body DURING the trip. A spokesman said: “A guide asked if they wished to proceed and they all said yes. The other guide phoned the authorities.”

The resort’s beaches were closed last year following shark attacks that killed a tourist and injured two others.

The Red Sea resort has staked its reputation on being able to offer unrivalled diving and snorkelling.

But with this shark seemingly ignored by locals desperate to return to normal, things are not looking good for Egypt’s tourist industry. Authorities need to get to grips with the problem quickly before it spirals out of control.

We would like to thank Jack Anavian, MD for finding this incident and sharing….

45 Comments

Angel
on February 20, 2013 at 7:41 am

If the story is actually true as the couple told this is a real scandal.
As every seaman the captain should have stopped immediately and recover the body or wait there until the cost guard arrive to the scene.
If it was a scavenging or not is to be decided by the doctors in a later time but it does not change the fact that there was a big dangerous shark near the beach and people should have been taken out the sea to prevent any interactions.
I wonder who is actually protecting who ? It is for certain that the beach goers or divers are not protected. They are the ones who need the real protection not the tourism. They are the tourists that makes the tourism after all.
Ignorance of the captain and the ignorance of the local authorities is unbelievable.

Nice how you cover up most of the comments with a picture. tHE ACTIONS TAKEN IN THIS STORY ARE TRULY HORRENDOUS; DID THE CREW ADAOP THAT ATTITUDE because it was woman’s body eaten? You have to wonder…….

Angel, this is how it is in Egypt.
I’ve been there a couple times and each sceen of this incident is very close to what I know about mariners and divers behavior in all cases like this. I saw an incident, where young russian had both legs ripped off by white tip shark durring snorkling trip and after I came back to Europe ,I couldn’t find a note about it on whole damn net. Divers were telling me, that If they report any incident, they know, that on next year, there will be a less tourist – less oportunities – less money, so they will go against themselfs by reporting it.
Red sea is by my opinion one of most dangerous due to fish behavior, but only small numbers of incidents are known to public.

This is the perfect case of MONEY OVER LIFE of a HUMAN BEING!! Its ALSO a perfect case of the sadistic Mayor of Amity in the 1970’s JAWS MOVIE, where he cared a lot MORE about mucho dollars and the 3 day Memorial Day Weekends business, over the 20 foot Great White Shark Jaws attacking numerous people there all week long!!Even over his “OWN” children playing on the very same beach too, telling Chief Brody not to worry and not to RUIN THE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND business…under ANY circumstance! Or ELSE HE’s FIRED! Same thing in this article right here with Sheik Al Sheikh Beach Resort!

Been 5 times dive every time THERE ARE SHARKS IN THE RED SEA. do some research and you will learn about what you need to know. Your behaviour in the water will have a greater impact on the shark than you can imagine. I have allowed my son who is now 7 to learn to dive in sharm and he loves it.

Water is as safe as you make it. correct times of day etc and obey your beach lifeguard.

If you notice a paper released in 2005 at the very bottom you will see they have had 54 incidents prior to 2005. We only know of 11 and none of them were from the activity of “shark feeding”.
The secrets of the shark world.
Al Brenneka

I spent two ten day dive trips in the area. I can say by experience that this is by far the shark capital of the world. Especially Rangiroa is a must see for an avid shark diver. Of course with my interest in the sharks, I talked to many local fishermen and divers in the islands. They have much more stories to tell than just 11 or 54. You can listen to hundreds of encounters and incidents..
One time I was with a French underwater camera crew waiting to produce a film. We did many dives together and became good friends. They were planning to produce a shark documentary about the local people and shark attacks. They had many reported and unreported cases of incidents some fatal and some were about the missing people during swims or pearl dives in the past. I never got to know what the end result was but if you are interested I can contact them ask if they finished it. Just let me know..

Angel that would be great. We have a bite on a spearfisherman from last year we are trying to get more info on, it is one of those pay for articles with instructions in french on how to get it.
Any thing you can find out would be great.
Al

I promised myself not to go to Egypt again for diving years ago. I have been there many times in different locations, fantastic dive sites but the rules of engagement were less than any other parts of the world I have been diving. Not only the quality or safety of equipment they use but also how they use it. All those nice and shiny hotels or live aboard are just means of sleeping for a diver. The real deal is the diving. With all the beauty of underwater nothing seems to be right every time.
Not reported diving accidents to shark encounters. Damaging the reefs and dirtying the waters are business as usual. I doubt if they will ever have responsible and sustainable tourism.
The most dangerous and unpredictable species of shark in any water to my personal experience is the Oceanic White Tip. I am not going to list the reasons here. That is the most found shark in the Red Sea open water diving spots. Without a stick or a camera a OWT Shark can give you a nightmare in open water especially if you are far away from the boat. I have seen enough charges and challenges given by these wonderful sharks. It is idiotic for the skippers or the captains to allow snorkelers in open water with these sharks without proper protection by fellow divers. But they do it all the time and the ignorant tourist pay the penalty by suffering a painful experience and fear that will effect them all their life.
Feeding them to come closer to the boats is the worst practice that can be done. Although it is banned they still do it.

This is the perfect case of MONEY OVER LIFE of a HUMAN BEING!! Its ALSO a perfect case of the sadistic Mayor of Amity in the 1970’s JAWS MOVIE, where he cared a lot MORE about mucho dollars and the 3 day Memorial Day Weekends business, over the 20 foot Great White Shark Jaws attacking numerous people there all week long!!Even over his “OWN” children playing on the very same beach too, telling Chief Brody not to worry and not to RUIN THE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND business…under ANY circumstance! Or ELSE HE’s FIRED! Same thing in this article right here with Sheik Al Sheikh Beach Resort!

I was in Sharm in December 2010 for my 60th B.Day and the first we heard was on the Wednesday that there had been a Shark attack further down the bay so everyone was tols to get out of the water and we were not allowed back until the Saturday and then on the Sunday the second attack when the Russian lady was killed happend.

But since then we found out that the first attack had Actually happend on the Tuesday but it had been kept quiet for fear people would panic and cancel their holidays and the tourist trade would suffer.

Oh dear I’m a bit worried a out all this as I’ve just booked my holiday to Sahl Hasheesh last night. I presume that just getting into the water on the beach is a risk or is it safe to go a few meters in? I don’t know and it doesn’t look like I can trust the people living there to ask.

White tip? White tip reef Shark??? Ripping off a man’s legs, LOL.
Sorry but this is Highly,highly unlikely. This is a smallish slender shark and definitely not normally considered a threat human beings.
In fact this species spends most of the daylight hours hiding in caves waiting until dusk before Hunting their favoured food fish.
There are only a handful of sharks considered dangerous to man out of over 300 species.
With that in mind please THINK before you make silly comments, sensationalism of this nature can have a devastating effect of the shark population.
It also causes huge problems to the delicate marine ecology in which Sharks play a vital role.

No confusion, I’m a marine biologist.
I’m assuming the attack mentioned was close to the shore. I’m making that assumption based upon the fact the victim was snorkelling and also upon the identification “Whitetip” This would seem logical as the whitetip is a reef shark and would be the most likely candidate for tourists to come into contact with. As this species of shark predominantly inhabits shallow Reef waters where you will normally find recreational snorkelling.
Ie tourists on boat trips out to enjoy the large variety of fish found in the Red Sea.
Had we been discussing an Oceanic whitetip shark I’d be assuming the attack would have be in open ocean/sea where snorkelling would be unlikely.
Whilst I’m very well aware Oceanic whitetips and a variety of other sharks considered dangerous to man may occasionally be found close to shore and in these waters attacks are very rare.
The summer in question was also thankfully rare, and a series of attacks like this even rarer.
So please people think about marine conservation before silly scare mongering and just enjoy your holiday.
I’d also like to add please do NOT hand feed fish close to shore or from boats as this may bring larger sharks into the area.

Finally an intelligent comment in this website!!!
If you really want to know what is dangerous…what we have need to be worried about … now i reveal the truth: the most dangerous animal on Earth is the Homo sapiens!!!… and btw do not search on wikipedia where lives this species so to find your way to avoid it….just look in the mirror!!

The fatal incidents were caused by one or more Oceanic White Tip Sharks a few meters from the shore in very shallow water.
It is very very unlikely for a White Tip Reef shark to kill 3 people and injure another 3 almost fatally, if not impossible. Any way, there is no point in arguing for no reason… We all make mistakes..

I never at any point said it was a Whitetip reef shark? If in fact you read carefully through the points I’ve made and you’ll see that I’m mocking this ludicrous notion.
One final time, you’re more likely to be struck by lighting than be attacked by any shark let alone a species( Oceanic Whitetip ) that is almost exclusively found in the open ocean.
I really get annoyed by these Expert opinion’s.
Their Hysterical nature undo all the good work done by people such as myself to re educate the people in relation to sharks and the part they play in the marine environment. They only serve to encourage the wholesale slaughter of the shark population .
One final point the attacks you’re so expert on, well they there was several species responsilble.
How do I know ? I ‘m a marine biologist who is also part of a data collection team. We’re mainly concerned with shark biology, Tagging and behaviour. Our team was tasked with looking into potential reasons for these attacks.

What a ridiculous comment. Sharks kill about 20 – 30 people worldwide. More people die from hippos, crocodiles, snakes, cigarette smoking and car accidents than are ever killed by sharks. WE are going into THEIR environment. It’s uneducated comments like this that cause all the problems of mans interference in the natural environment. I’m a marine biologist / zoologist.

Harry, please provide some sort of proof on you lighting statement. I actually think there are very few deaths from lighting while someone was in the water.
Also what group are you in? I personally know the four people from the USA brought in to investigate the Egypt incidents, none of them named Harry.

I don’t appreciate your tone, firstly do your research. It’s not my job to educate you and secondly I don’t remember saying I was asked to attend an investigation in Egypt?
As for providing you with evidence of my credential’s, don’t be silly.
I don’t have to prove anything to you.

I understood your point.
I love marine biologists and admire their work.
That’s said, being a marine biologist does not qualify anyone to be an expert on sharks. If you say you are, I accept it as a fact. Most biologists are not so called experts on say lions or tigers. A tiger expert is most likely a person who spent most of his time and effort with tigers + educate himself.. In most of the cases he would know a lot more than a biologist.,
Not in theory but in practice and real life knowledge. Anyway, since you are an expert you should know better.
We all try to protect all of the shark species and people who want to enjoy oceans at the same time, when possible.We do not kill sharks and actually argue with people who does kill. Anyway, your tone is great…
Keep up the good work…

Most biologists,marine or otherwise start their career’s with a general interest interest in their chosen subject.
As you progress through your career you may become interested in a specific field Sharks in my case. So I don’t understand your “you should know better” comment. Anyway it’s irrelevant.
Thank you for your support of Shark conservation it’s something I feel very passionately about.

Oceanic White Tips are the top dogs in the Red Sea, where a sharp continental shelf drop off, and high water temperatures makes it ideal for them. They have been responsible for practically all of the numerous Red Sea attacks of recent years – and are the probable perpetrators of attacks in similar locations around the world which have been blithely attributed to other sharks based on zero evidence.

Tagging work on White Tips in the Bahamas showed that they largely stayed very close to land, preferably just at the drop off.

Just because you helped tag a few sharks doesn’t mean you posess the capacity to think straight, or are not a loud mouth idiot.

You came swanning in like you owned the place, spouting “I’m a marine biologist”, and yet you had not the first clue what the fuck you were talking about.

“and are the probable perpetrators of attacks in similar locations around the world which have been blithely attributed to other sharks based on zero evidence.”
I can’t agree more Boosra. I think the same way.
There are some specific locations where other shark types are concentrated that are dangerous to people. Great Whites, Tigers and Bull Sharks. I even want to take the thought to further saying that even in some of those locations Oceanic White Tip interacted more with people and the blame was on the 3 species of sharks mentioned.
When there is no proof, when there is no witness (even with witnessed interactions, the overview is mostly blurry) these 3 species were to blame. I personally think Oceanic White Tip did a lot more in most of these cases than thought.
In most of the interactions the shark bumps or bites one time (except frenzy or multiple sharks involved). The Oceanic White Tip on the other hand, never let s go, keep charging in until the shark itself says enough. Unlike what most people think, they come so close to shallows and shore from time to time that it is hard to believe. Being oceanic does not mean that they only swim in deep and open oceans only at all. I have seen 2 of them in less than 3 meters of water in Sudan further south in Red Sea,. They hanged around and charged us for over 10 minutes in circles. Similar things happened in Mozambique. I am not even counting Egyptian encounters which are many more. This shark is very unpredictable and to my personal experience dangerous.to humans than all other species of shark.

sorry after reading all these posts,and returning back home safely from Sharm El Sheikh this week.I cant help myself saying this.

Angel……you should be ashamed of yourself, and Harry,keep up the good work mate.
The diving and snorkelling around the bays was simply awsome,spent all of my holiday time doing so….boiling hot,beautiful warm water,amazing fish life and corals….and guess what…….not one bloody shark to be seen..shame,maybe next year!!

sorry after reading all these posts,and returning back home safely from Sharm El Sheikh this week.I cant help myself saying this.

Angel……you should be ashamed of yourself, and Harry,keep up the good work mate.
The diving and snorkelling around the bays was simply awsome,spent all of my holiday time doing so….boiling hot,beautiful warm water,amazing fish life and corals….and guess what…….not one bloody shark to be seen..shame,maybe next year!!

I did not see anyone here writing that corals are bad, there is no fish life or the diving is not good. It has excellent diving spots and some of them are the best in the world. That is why people still go there. It is cheap, close to Europe, warm waters and beautiful underwater.
I think you missed all of the important points made here in most of these comments..

The important thing here is people reported what they saw. There aren’t many negative for humans shark interactions to gather information from. The ISAF has 5500 incidents, but only counts 2,229. People entering the water need to know about all of them not 40%^ of them.

i went there about 5 times never see sharks there …….. just they jealous from natural here……. and happy they not come again to not make that amazing trips here expensive for Egyptian ….. stay ur a** warm from snow 😛

Just returned from Nabq Bay in Sharm El Sheikh. Spent most days in the water. The water is less than 2 foot deep for about 1/3rd of a mile out though you can snorkle on the edge of the reef in much deeper water from long pontoons. Had a nibble from a small Moray eel that I accidently trod on but think it very unlikely any shark (Oceanic White Tip, or other) would venture in from the edge of the reef. Go – it’s really beautiful.

i went there about 5 times never see sharks there …….. just they jealous from natural here……. and happy they not come again to not make that amazing trips here not expensive for Egyptian ….. stay ur a** warm from snow 😛

Just to inform, had an encounter with a shark in Sharm while snorkelling. Was at the edge of the reef and large shark starting coming towards me from the deep. I didn’t hang around to see if it was an oceanic white tip or not, but retreated back to the safety of the shallows. Will not snorkel there again without my divers dagger and/or spear gun.

for those like myself i always pay one of the guys on the beach to take me out to the far or near garden for getting close to the Napoleon Wrasse

He then looks out for me for 1 hour or so while i play around with this magnificent creature and then back to naama bay

all of the past 25 years I’ve been doing this i have yet to see any shark or any jelly fish but like all things you need to make sure that at all times someone is looking out for you and you wont go far wrong

with all due respect to all of you, who clearly don’t seem to do your research, i am egyptian and lived several years in sharm, and attacks have always been placed out there for people….fact is, attacks are rare within the red sea and thats why people yet venture into the waters…i am an open water deep sea diver and i for one know what i am getting into when i enter the domain of incredible creatures….deciding not to return to a country merely cause of such incidents is actually ridiculous….understand that you are entering a habitat that is not your own, needless to say there are worse off countries with shark attacks but people remain to go there….simply be aware of your surrounding, respect it and perhaps learn more out the creatures that live there, perhaps that would give you the brains and understanding on how to stay alive…..

Dear Gee
You have the most beautiful country and the best sea in the world. Tourists flock to Egypt . I was there in December 2010 staying at the Hyatt Hotel and a German Tourist was killed by a shark. She swam in the middle of the day, who had always done for the last 12 years. She did not swim out far, but still she was attacked. . Yes I agree it is the sharks habitat, and is unusual for them to come in so close. You have to protect the tourists young and old by putting up shark nets to stop them coming in too close. Personally I will never enter the Red Sea, never again….

This says, Thanks also for that this i of its said accounts on ” ‘ ‘ Two Brits who saw a Shark eating a human corpse ‘ ‘ ” with it now here STILL recounts also that ” ‘ ‘ The pair watched in HORROR from their dive boat as the sixteen ( 16 ) ( xvi ) ft ( ‘ ) tiger Shark tore at the body less than a third ( 1/3 ) ( i/iiird ) of a mile ( mi ) from the shore…. ‘ ‘ ” for ANYONE of these said writers whoever wrote this i of its said accounts him/herself for him/herself, for ANYONE whoever accepts also that this even says also, Thanks also for that this i of its said accounts on ” ‘ ‘ Two Brits who saw a Shark eating a human corpse ‘ ‘ ” with it now here STILL recounts also that ” ‘ ‘ The pair watched in HORROR from their dive boat as the sixteen ( 16 ) ( xvi ) ft ( ‘ ) tiger Shark tore at the body less than a third ( 1/3 ) ( i/iiird ) of a mile ( mi ) from the shore…. ‘ ‘ ” him/herself for him/herself, for fans, for readers, for others also and even for us, too….